Comings and Goings
by sasspan
Summary: Cross dressing pirates, overbearing butlers,stressed out sisters,an entertainment troupe with weird obsession with scarves, a fiancée you barely know - and that's not even half of it. Welcome to our world. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: AH FINALLY. My first fic! *cue victory dance* I'd promised I'd write something like two months ago. ^_^; Well, better late than never, right? ~**

**I actually had a bunch of Ideas before this one, but his plot bunny was apparently rabid, because I couldn't stop mulling over the idea. But I should probably shut up and let you read now, huh?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid. Or UTAU, or vip, or SRS. Enjoy~**

The soft, silvery moonlight reflecting off the ocean's tranquil surface could make one unsure if what one saw was reality or simply a mirage. With the water so smooth and reflective, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the sea and sky. Almost. A dark shape broke the horizon. A ship.

The ship's captain leant over the railing surrounding the poop deck. In one hand she clutched a steaming cup of coffee, and with the other she absentmindedly fingered the patch covering her left eye. She was, by most standards, quite tall, her dark hair pulled into two pigtails that went just past her shoulders. She was wearing a skintight strapless top which showed quite a bit of her midriff (not to mention her cleavage), black leather pants and boots, a navy blue knee-length coat, and, to top it all off, a triangular hat that just about matched the cerulean streaks in her hair.

Silently, Yokune Ruko studied the small ripples that her ship made on the otherwise glassy ocean. A soft noise made her look up, and she gazed with an unsurprised crimson eye at the large, tan dog in front of her. The dog stared back. It was quite ordinary-looking, big, light brown and non-descript. The only things that set it apart from any other stray was the mess of black-and-red hair sitting between its pointed ears , and the red coat it was wearing. Those, and the unnaturally intelligent ruby-red eyes it was studying Ruko with.

The two gazed at each other for a few moments, until Ruko broke the silence with a sigh, and spoke for the first time in hours. "Again?"

The dog tipped its head at her, as if to say, _Isn't it obvious? _Ruko sighed again, and then began searching through the pockets of her coat. Muttering "You're lucky I keep extras " when she found what she was looking for, Ruko ripped open the small paper packet and poured the fine black powder in to her coffee. Setting the mixture in front of the canine, she turned back to the ocean. When she glanced back a few seconds later, the dog had disappeared. In its place crouched a rather short young man with bronze skin, messy red-streaked black hair, and a long red trench coat. The boy - because, really, he couldn't have been more than seventeen - got up and dusted himself off.

Rook grinned at his half-sister. "Thanks, Ruko. Sorry about that." Aforementioned female sighed. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again," she said in a tone that suggested she had said the same thing many times before. Rook folded his arms, leaning against the railing next to the tall girl. "Really, I'm sorry. Big Al was fooling around, and Zuii was laughing, and Tsuya made this joke, and…." He trailed off, shrugging.

Ruko didn't look at him, instead staring intently at the horizon as if she could see past it. "I don't blame them. They're excited." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Aren't you?" The black haired boy stretched his arms above his head and sighed happily. "Yeah." He smiled at the sky. "It's been so long." Ruko squinted at the horizon again, then nodded and dropped her gaze to the ocean once more. "We'll be in sight of it by tomorrow noon. "

The two shared a companionable silence for a few more minutes, Ruko gazing at the sea and Rook at the sky. Abruptly, Ruko turned and fixed Rook with a piercing stare. "Have you checked Miko's prediction yet?" He flushed with embarrassment. "Ah…no." Inwardly, he swore. _Crap, I forgot… again_. "I'll do that right away." Ruko nodded approvingly."Make sure she gets some sleep, okay?" Rook saluted jokingly."Aye aye, Captain."

**xXx**

The worn oak wood door creaked loudly as Rook swung it open, making the occupant of the room look up.

Soft brown hair fell away from a pair of ruby-colored eyes opened wide with surprise. The girl was petite, barely four feet tall, around thirteen or fourteen. She was wearing a light pink hoodie (with fabric animal ears, no less) over a pale yellow dress. A long brown tail peeking out of the hem of her dress swished into view for a moment before sweeping back under the table she was sitting at.

Ooka Miko grinned at him. "Rook! You came!" Her normally shy expression had been replaced with a bright smile. Rook found himself smiling back.

" 'Course. Can't very well miss the weather report, can I? Sorry I'm late." She shook her head, dismissing his apology almost as soon as it had left his lips. "No, that's fine. I haven't even shuffled yet anyways. Wanna sit down?"

That was going to be tough. Miko's small, cramped room was stuffed with maps, globes, compasses (she _was _the ship navigator, after all), a telescope, but most of all, books. Her tiny bunk, built into the wall to save space, was overflowing with papers yellowing with age, and her desk threatened to collapse under the weight of the pounds of charting material it was piled with.

Quickly shoving the heap of navigation maps she had been working on out of the way, Miko gestured to the bench she was sitting at."I don't know why you trust these so much. They're highly unreliable." Rook patted her shoulder as he sat down next to her."You've never been wrong yet." Miko's face tinged slightly pink as his warm hand touched her arm, but Rook didn't seem to notice. "After you read the draw, go to bed, alright? Ruko's orders." She nodded, still blushing a bit as she withdrew the green satin bag from the pocket of her hoodie. Undoing the glittery gold drawstring, Miko let the shimmering deck of tarot cards spill onto the table.

She shuffled the deck quickly, her fingers agile with practice. Swiftly, she laid the cards facedown in an "X" formation. They were quite strange, Rook reflected, even for tarot cards. The back of each card was embossed with the puzzling image of a shiny golden watch and chain wrapped around the thorny stem of an inky black rose.

Carefully, making sure she did it in the right order, Miko flipped the twelve cards face-up. If the back of the cards had been weird, the fronts were even odder. An ox entwined with a pair of scales, a rabbit intertwined with a scorpion. Miko traced her fingernail down the painted surface of the cards, frowning slightly as she read some hidden message. "Hmmm ….. fierce winds…water….." She scrabbled for one of her various maps, her head wagging back and forth between the map and the cards. She looked up at Rook. "Steer a bit due northeast. There's a horrible hairy little tempest a tad west and there's a chance we could get caught up in the edge…."He nodded. "Affirmative. Now, how 'bout some sleep-"

Miko cut him off. "Just a minute, I want to check this…." She trailed off, her eyes widening as they flew across the elaborate illustrations. "…. _wait._" Rook stared at her alarmed expression, growing anxious himself. "What is it?"

Her eyes scanned the cards once more. "_People_." Rook relaxed visibly. "Just people? Jeez, Miko, you had me seriously worried there. Probably just some sleazy merchants or somethin-"

"No. Not merchants." Miko's finger shakily traced the line between two cards- one with a dog and lion, the second with a pair of identical people and a rabbit." Others. A…..girl. Some others. An accident…."As she spoke, her finger trailed down to a card with the picture of a sheep and a muscled man carrying a giant pot."Another girl. No….a boy." Miko's brow creased with confusion. "How can that be….?"

Her trail of thought was interrupted by Rook firmly grabbing her upper arm. "Okay, Miko. You're obviously tired out of your mind and seeing things. Time for bed." His tone left no room for arguments. She allowed him to lead her to her bunk, shoving the piles of paper on the floor as he tucked her in. "Don't stress, okay? It'll probably be nothing." Rook gave her a reassuring smile, and Miko's worry subsided a bit. "Good night, Rook."

"Good night, Miko."

And yet, as he dimmed her lamp and closed the door behind him, why did Miko have that gnawing feeling at the back of her mind?

**A/N : AUGH LAME CLIFFHANGER AND ATTEMPTS AT FORESHADOWING. Orz …..**

**Did anyone get the reference with the back of the cards? The front of each card has one character from the traditional Zodiac and one from the Chinese Zodiac. Happy Year of the Rabbit ~**

**Although Taya and Rin don't make an appearance in this chapter, they will in the next chapter, I promise~**

**Tell me what you think! Constructive criticism about anything? Questions? Just ask ~**

**Thank you for reading ! ^_^ **

** ~Nyen-tan**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: AH MY GOSH, I AM SORRY. This update is inexcusably late ~ ( An entire month !D:)**

**Especially after your kind reviews. Really, thank you so much, they were incredibly encouraging~! Okay. I'm going to stop babbling now and let you read.**

**Oh, and I don't own VOCALOID, or whatever company made Soune Taya. But you knew that ~**

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_***About two days later***_

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Pale, cold, early morning sunlight filtered through the large glass window, creating patches of light on the intricately designed carpet. The only sound in the bedroom was the resilient _creak, creak_ of the worn orange suitcase as its owner bounced on it insistently.

Short blonde hair flopped up and down , the large bow set precariously on top moving in synchronization. The honey-colored bags fell on the cornflower blue eyes narrowed in concentration. With a final flounce, Kagamine Rin attempted to shut the lid of her stubborn, overflowing suitcase. To her satisfaction, it closed with a forlorn snap. Unfortunately, the hem of her soft , dark gray-blue wool skirt got caught between the lips of the suitcase, so when she tried to rise, she was pulled to the ground with a rather undignified _fwump._

Laying on the expensive royal purple embroidered rug, the fourteen-year-old made no attempt to get up and brush the dust off her equally expensive silk shirt. She knew full well that she could have simply asked one of the maids to pack her suitcase _for_ her, but then it would have been stuffed with the absurdly ruffled dresses and inconveniently beribboned gowns that dominated this place, instead of the simple knee-length skirts and button down blouses she preferred.

The _real _reason Rin had offered to pack her own traveling case, however, was because … she had wanted to say goodbye. Goodbye to this room, which, for the past six months, had been her home. Actually, the entire mansion had been her home, but this room was her special place. The place where she had read, and slept, and snickered as the maids emitted lovesick sighs as they spied on the milkman. The pale yellow walls, now bare, had only a short while ago been filled with her paintings. From where she was lying with her cheek pressed to the floor, she could see the apple cider stains she had made when she had first arrived and tripped over the hem of her cloak and splattered the sweet, lukewarm liquid all over the carpet.

She didn't want to leave. But it couldn't be helped. She had to leave today,in a matter of hours, to go and live with her-

"_Lady Rin._"

Rin jumped to her feet, hurriedly trying to smooth out her skirt and straighten her short locks, but it was no use. The sharp amber eyes studying her, the one on the right half-hidden by the light shining off its monocle, were already filling with disapproval . Long, medium blue waves of hair, bound near the tips in a loose ponytail, were impatiently brushed away by long-fingered hands in posh white gloves. He was quite tall, wearing wrinkle-free black trousers, a light gray dress shirt, and a tie the same color as his hair. The only thing remotely unusual about him was the decidedly old-fashioned waistcoat he was wearing, which sported absurdly long tails.

Soune Taya , Rin's butler and warden, let out a small _hmph _of disappointed as he surveyed the wrinkles in his charge's shirt, the mussing of her hair, and the imprint of the rug on her cheek. Rin gave a small, resigned sigh, dropping to sit on the bed for the long lecture that was sure to come. Probably something to do with being "ladylike" and "a delicate flower".

She wasn't disappointed. Taya immediately launched into a long speech about "the grace of a true aristocrat " , and then something about how it wouldn't do for her to "romp around like a common street ruffian". She tuned out about two minutes in, focusing instead on Taya himself.

Rin was glad that she wasn't going alone.

Sending her away from here, where, for once in her life, she had _looked forward _to waking up each day, was bad enough, but if she was to travel to where she was going without _Taya_, she would have probably refused to go outright. Taya, even with his blustering and speeches and scoldings, had been with her longer than anybody else in her entire life, and she didn't even want to _imagine_ what it would be like to leave without him.

A sudden silence in Taya's long drone made Rin turn her attention back to the blue-haired man. He was staring at her with an expectant look in his amber eyes. She blinked, wondering what he was waiting for, then remembered.

"Uh...yes, of course, , Taya. It will never happen again and I will try my best to represent my family in an honorable way," she rambled off dutifully, knowing the words by heart.

His gaze softened . " I know, Lady Rin. But as the sole remainder of your long and distinguished line of ancestry, society will expect more of you than they would anyone else. Especially considering to whose residence we will be departing to in a few short hours, and how they will influence your future. "

Rin bit back a grin as he spoke. Taya had always had an amusingly old-fashioned manner of speech, and it was only because she had known him for so long that she was able to fully interpret what exactly he was saying. Her urge to smile vanished, however, when the weight of his words sank in.

He was absolutely right.

He was right about "society expecting more of her" , or whatever, but she had known that for years, and hearing it again came as no big shock.

The second part was what worried her.

"And so, Lady Rin, with that out of the way, may I request that I take possesion of your traveling case so I may transport it to the doorway for the porter to pick up ? " Taya said, oblivious to her trail of thought.

Rin shook her head lightly to clear it of the unhappy thoughts clouding it, then nodded. "Go ahead, I've packed everything up."

"Just that one ? " he asked, pointing to the solitary orange suitcase lying at the foot of her bed.

She nodded again, glancing at her huge, spacious, now-empty hazelwood wardrobe at the farthest corner of the room. "All my other stuff was packed and shipped a week ago."

Her butler strode across the room quickly and easily hefted the apricot-colored trunk on to his shoulder , then walked back to the entrance of the room. He paused at the doorway to fish out a silver pocketwatch out of the pocket of his suit.

"We will depart at exactly ten o' clock . Be sure to make yourself presentable, Lady Rin ." And with that, he swept out of the room.

With a deep sigh, Rin collapsed on her bed, lying spread-eagled on the soft floral-patterned satin bedcovers and staring up at the peaches-and-cream colored ceiling.

People said time goes faster when you are not looking forward to something ; in that case , the next one and a half hours were going to positively fly by.

* * *

**A/N: Augh. This chapter was a pain to write, because the wording wouldn't come smoothly, and the pace was horrible, too. /orz**

**As you can see from the beginning of the chapter, this part of the story takes place a bit after Chapter 1. The next chapter will take place directly after this one, because it was originally supposed to be one chapter, but I had to split it into two because I'm a slow typer and I wanted to update ~**

**IMPORTANT[kind of]: On a whim, I decided to try and fit all of the characters on the Vocaloid Archive character list into this story. I've found places for almost all of them, but the genderbends are giving me a bit of trouble. Not to worry, they will get in ~! Somehow, somehow ~**

**Again, I apologize for this terribly late update, and hope you enjoyed reading this ~ Questions, critiques, and suggestions are welcomed ~**

** ~Nyen-tan**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:I finished this over a month ago.**

**Yeah.**

**OTL.**

***WARNING:Following chapter may contain awful pace, random time skips, and cucumbers.***

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Apples. Green apples, to be exact, were what had led to what was now collectively referred to as "the Macne family fortune" .

The patriarch of the Macne family, or "Papa"" as he was called by those close to him, had had relatively humble beginnings - a simple two-acre fruit farm a few miles off the coast of the southern coast of the island of Shuujin . But with enterprise, determination,and an eye for the best fruits, Papa managed to spread his farms all the way to the capital.

He was going places, people told each other each time they took a bite of the famed Macne apples. Sweet with out being sickening, tangy without being bitter, juicy without being watered down, Macne apples were fast becoming the most-sold fruit at markets and bazaars. Surely, with this sort of success under his belt, there could be no way that Papa wouldn't be able to go straight to the top, to start distributing his apples even past the borders of the kindom of Crypton.

However, fate seemed to have different ideas. Tragedy struck in the form of the mysterious death of Papa's beloved wife, mother of his four children, and Papa fell into a deep depression . His grief eventually lessened, to an extent, but he never did reenter the apple industry. Nevertheless , by then Papa had managed to acquire enough wealth to see that his four precious daughters grew up in luxury.

This entire history, from beginning to end, was chronicled on the walls of the mansion of the third Macne daughter in the form of paintings. Beautiful paintings, Rin reflected as she strolled by them. Each scene was lovingly painted, each brushstroke drawn on with utmost care . The artist had painstakingly added all sorts of details, from a squirrel peeking out from behind an apple tree to the weather vanes on the roofs of the painted houses. She herself had never been a very good artist - the many pastels that had lined the walls of her room were simply products of long, empty afternoons, and were no better than something a toddler with finger-paints could do .

Abandoning her room, she had decided to instead roam around the rest of the manor; staying in her room was just making her feel even more morose and hopeless . Besides, didn't she have to bid a proper goodbye to everyone else in the mansion ? It wasn't like she and Taya had lived here _alone _for the past half year - far from it. There were almost a dozen other people living here as well, though the majority were maids and footmen and the like. But she had grown fond of several of them, would miss them, and not telling them farewell would be almost blasphemous .

Oddly enough, in a house that was usually bustling with activity, she could find no one, not even the cat. Briefly, Rin wondered if their absence had anything to do with her departure , but quickly dimissed the idea. Racking her brains , she tried to remember if any other important event was to happen today. Lady Sukone coming over ? No, that happened every week...Birthday party ? Baby shower ? Funeral ? Anniversary ? As far as she knew, nobody had been born , or had died, but...

_Oh. Right. _

Two weeks ago, Lady Macne had called her over to tell her "something important ". This "something" had turned out to be news that Microsoft Sam, also known as Lady Macne's husband, also known as "Sam _darling _!" , was returning to the Macne household after nearly a year on the distant island of Putin, doing what Lady Macne distastefully called "grunt work". Even so, the household was in a state of high excitement, and all the servants had most probably gone off to various shops to prepare for a "welcome back" feast in honor of their master, who was set to arrive in exactly two days.

With a small _oof_, Rin dropped onto a nearby pouf , feeling sullen. Even after she was gone, life here would continue. There would probably be a party celebrating the return of "Sam darling", with lots of food and drink and laughter. Which she wouldn't be attending. Rin couldn't help but feel rather antagonistic to the faceless "Sam".

The sulky teenager was broken out of her reverie when a soft, warbling call of "Mistress Rin ?" sounded from behind her. She turned , tipping her head up slightly to catch sight of the Macne household's head maid looking down at her from the top of the stairs leading down to the living room.

With her long, pin-straight pine green hair -bound at the base into a high ponytail and falling into charming block-like bangs over her forehead-,bright chartreuse eyes framed with feathery eyelashes, and an adorable layered maid uniform, Acme Iku was one of the prettiest people Rin had ever met. Really, she could have probably gone and become an incredibly successful model, but her shy and subservient nature was what held her back. But she had an extremely sweet personality, so maybe not entering the rather vicious world of models was for the best.

"Mistress Rin ," Iku repeated, looking upset. Another thing about Iku was how emotional she was. Whether it someone's funeral or just a sad story, she was always on the verge of tears. Of course, this might have had to do with the fact that a giant onion accesorized her hair.

Rin blinked up at her. " Yes?"

The head maid fingered the edge of the lacy apron that was tied around her fluffy black dress. "Eh...th-the mistress would like to see you up in her p-parlor ," she stammered . The younger girl hopped off the cushioned stool she was sitting on. "Right. I'll be up in a minute."

Secretly, Rin was glad she actually had something to do other than mope about the inevitable. She skipped up the stairs as fast as she could, eager to talk to the lady of the mansion.

**xXx**

The parlor was... girly. There was really no other way to describe it. It was like there had been an explosion; an explosion of doilies, lace curtains, pressed flowers, and the color pink, to be exact. And to top it off, the whole place smelled like cinnamon and apples.

The occupant of the room, the owner of the entire manor, was sitting in an armchair (pink, of course ) facing away from the door from which Rin and Iku entered .

"M-mistress ?" Iku whispered fearfully, as if they had interrupted a séance or something. "I brought Mistress Rin as you wished..."

"Very good, Iku, thank you," replied the person in the chair. She rose, her head wrapped in a white towel, and spun around, causing the pink-and-green bathrobe she was wearing to flair dramatically. Iku emitted a soft scream and fainted, while Rin had to stifle several unladylike swearwords.

The person standing in front of ther had _green skin_( at least on her face ), large blank circles for eyes, and a gaping mouth that _hungered for her blood._

Several confusing minutes later, Rin had learned the person was Lady Macne, the "green skin" was an avocado face mask and the "blank eyes" were actually just sliced cucumbers, nobody was hungering for her blood (Taya might if he ever learned that she knew those swearwords ), and Iku seemed almost as prone to fainting as she was to crying.

"Rin darling !" exclaimed Lady Macne indignantly. Now that her face mask, bathrobe, and head towel was off, her lime-green, waist length hair cascaded over her gown (in tasteful shades of salmon), her fashionably overgrown bangs held away from her narrowed celery colored eyes with a matching pink beret, which held in place the small ponytail on the left side of her head. Enter Macne Nana, Papa's middle daughter, who considered it a crime not to be up-to-date with the latest fad .

"What on _earth _took you so long ? " demanded Nana . " Surely, you wouldn't leave without saying _good-bye _, darling ?"

"Of course not , Lady Macne ," said Rin soothingly . " It just took me a bit longer to pack then I expected."

Nana's annoyed expression faded, and her large green eyes filled with tears. " Rin _darling _!" she wailed, throwing herself at a surprised Rin, starting to sob loudly.

"Oh, darling, I will miss you soooooo muuucccchhh !" Nana sobbed . " And don't call me 'Lady Macne', it makes me sound old !"

Rin patted her back rather awkwardly. " Er...there, there ? Don't cry Lady Mac- I mean, um, A-Auntie Nana..." she muttered, which only made Nana cry harder .

After ten minutes and a few noisy blows on her embroidered handkerchief , Nana had calmed down some, and Iku was (finally) regaining consciousness on the cot on which she had been lying.

As Iku began apologizing profusely for passing out , Rin was distracted by a soft chiming sound coming from the corner of the room . It was the miniature grandfather clock, sounding out the hour of nine o' clock . The butter-haired girl felt her heart rise to her throat, momentarily making her speechless. _Just one more hour until ..._

Nana and Iku noticed her sudden silence. " Is everything all right, Rin darling ? " Nana questioned, looking concerned, while Iku tipped her head to the side anxiously . Rin swallowed the lump in her throat with difficulty. _No use in making them start crying again._ There would be plenty of time for that when she actually left .

"Yeah, everything's fine," she chirped, trying to sound chipper. But she didn't believe herself.

**xXx**

And now, exactly one hour later, it really was time to cry. Rin didn't need to look at the grandfather clock to know the time ; she could simply glance at Taya's silver pocket watch, which he was currently brandishing in her face as he ranted about how her outfit wasn't suitable for traveling. The long arm was pointing straight upward at the intricate Roman numeral number twelve, while the shorter had pointed at the small dot that symbolized the tenth hour.

"-in ! Lady Rin ! Are you paying any attention whatsoever ? " Taya's insistent voice brought her out of her reverie .

She nodded slowly, feeling dazed and strangely nostalgic as she looked around the Main Room for the last time. With its fresh woodsy pine-apple scent, it was the biggest, airiest room in the entire mansion, and she stared at it so hard her eyes began to water. Rin never wanted to forget this place, never ever _ever_, and she tried to burn the image of the Main Room into her memory forever.

"Well, as it is much too late to do anything about it, it seems that your chosen attire will have to do for our journey," grumbled Taya , sounding disgruntled.

" Erm, sorry," Rin said, trying to sound sincere. " Where's La- uh, Auntie Nana ? And Iku ?"

" I assure you, I have not the slightest clue " was his grumpy reply . "Though," he added, gazing at his trusted pocket watch, " If they do not arrive soon, we will simply have to depart without bidding them _adieu_ ."

"Bu-" she began to protest, wondering where on earth Nana and Iku had managed to get themselves off to, only to be interrupted by an earsplitting screech of "WAAAAITT, DON'T GOOOO YET !" emanating from the head of the stairs.

The two of them jumped and turned to stare in amazement as Nana proceeded to flounce down the stairs in one of the most ridiculous dresses Rin had ever seen,so absolutely bedecked with an assortment of sequins, beads, and frills that it was amazing that Lady Macne could even keep her balance, much less was followed by a terrified looking Iku , cowering behind her mistress and trying not to get hit by flying strings of beads.

Rin smiled , relieved , as Nana reached the bottom of the stairs and continued to stride in their direction imperiously. The three of them - Nana, Iku, and Rin - had spent the last hour in Nana's room, chatting. Actually, Nana had done most of the talking, while Iku continuously nodded respectfully and Rin contently nibbled on cucumber sandwiches. (All the cucumbers in the Macne household, including the ones that had been on Lady Macne's eyes, were courtesy of Nana's good friend Lady Sukone,a heiress whose cucumber plantations were almost as widespread as the Macne apple farms.)

Taya made an impatient tutting sound as Nana and Iku came to stand beside them. "Now that Lady Macne and Miss Acme are in our presence, I request that we proceed outside, where our carriage has been diligently waiting for the last _ten minutes_."

The two apple-haired women blinked in surprise, then quickly hurried out the large oak double doors, quite obviously not up to facing Taya's wrath. Grinning slightly, Rin followed them out into the fresh, crisp air.

The Macne's front garden wasn't very large, but perhaps that was a good thing, because walking across yards and yards of perfectly green grass would probably not have lessened Taya's frustrated expression. "Hurry !" he hissed as Rin stooped to inspect an oddly shaped pebble. "We're late enough as it is !"

The quartet managed to make their way to the gate at the end of the walkway leading up to the house quite speedily, but overly punctual Taya insisted on hurrying them along even more. " If you please, ladies, I would appreciate it if we didn't miss our ride." And with that, he swung himself into the front compartment of the carriage, probably to apologize to the driver or something.

Rin turned to Nana and Iku, who were dabbing at their eyes with elaborately embroidered handkerchiefs. "Well...I suppose this is goodbye then," she managed to get out before being engulfed in a bear hug on either side.

"Rin dar~ling !" Nana wailed on one side, while Iku sobbed noisily on the other. "Whatever shall we do without yo~ou?"

"It'll be all right," Rin tried to reassure them. " Lord Sam will be coming home soon, remember? And it's...it's not like we'll never see each other again..."

Nana blinked at her, her face glistening with tears, but looking considerably brighter."Ah! Yes! I remember~! " She glanced at Iku,who shrugged meekly."Ah, we forgot to tell you~! We will be visiting you in your new home soon ! "

"Visiting...me ?"

"Ah, well, that will not be the main reason, of course. Not that we don't adore spending time with you."

"Then why...?"

"Oh, the wedding, of course ! We wouldn't miss it for the world ! And you'll finally have a chance to meet Sam darling~!"

Rin's fingers twitched with irritation, almost curling into fists. Here was yet another reminder of her "future". She forced a smile.

"Ahaha, yes, I can't wait."

"Well, then !" chirped Nana, looking chipper. "Have a safe journey, darling ! Give my best wishes to everyone for me, won't you ?" The blonde girl nodded mutely."Oh, Iku ! Haven't you given Rin her snack yet ?" The maid produced a handkerchief-wrapped parcel from behind her back. "Just a bit of tea for you, darling, nothing much,but we thought you'd get a tad peckish. Taya has his already, not to worry."

A sharp whistle emanated from the carriage."Oh, that must be the signal to leave! Hurry along, darling !" And with a rush of final hugs and leftover snivels, Rin found herself hustled into the carriage, looking through the small window at the smiling faces of Nana and Iku.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," she said sincerely.

"Think nothing of it, darling !" trilled Lady Macne. "You've been an absolute delight to have here, and I do hope you'll visit again." Iku nodded frantically at her mistress's was a jolt and a cacophony of whinnies as the carriage began to move.

"You can count on it !" Rin managed to call over the sound of the wheels rattling over the paving stones. She waved frantically at them, and they waved back as the carriage picked up speed. A few more seconds, and she lost sight of them completely, seeing only the lush green lawns of the manor sweep past.

"Everything in order, Lady Rin ?" Taya asked as she leaned back into the cushioned seat.

"Yes," she replied shortly, trying to get comfortable.

* * *

**A/N: Awkward ending is awkward. Eew.**

**And so, the characters of Macne Nana and Acme Iku are introduced. Yay~ But their next appearance isn't very soon...;-;**

**The setting is elaborated on, too. But the actual purpose of the story is still vague. OTL I hate my pacing skills.**

**Oh, and thank you for the sweet reviews and story alerts and stuff~! :D I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner~[Key word being "try" XD]**

**As always, critiques and questions are much-loved~~~~**

**~Nyen-tan **


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